Friday, January 28, 2011

Suspect Arrested in Murder of Ugandan LGBT Rights Activist David Kato

Reuters reports that an arrest has been made in the murder of David Kato.

The Ugandan civil rights activist was found bludgeoned to death in his home Wednesday, just three weeks after a Ugandan court ordered the tabloid Rolling Stone to stop publishing the names, addresses and photos of supposedly gay and lesbian citizens and to pay damages to the civil rights leader. Kato's information was displayed on the front page in October.

The crime is being treated as a robbery related killing. Reuters reports:
Kato was attacked at home and died on the way to hospital. Police said he had been bludgeoned to death with a hammer.

Police told a news conference in the capital Kampala that one man, Arnold Senoga, had been arrested in connection with the killing and that they were looking for another man, Nsubuga Enock, who had been staying with Kato after the activist bailed him out of prison on Monday.

"His homosexuality has not come up as an issue in the preliminary investigation," police spokeswoman, Judith Nabakooba, told Reuters.

"At the moment, we think theft is the most likely motive. Nsubuga Enock, who had been staying with Kato, was well-known for committing robberies and had almost been lynched in the area before."
Activist Pepe Julian Onziema, who worked with Kato, told Reuters, "David had faced so many threats in his area that he didn't feel safe anymore," Pepe said. "I don't know if the police are aware but they should investigate that before ruling out homophobia. He was too frightened to leave his house."

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